Conveyer



Nov. 3, 1942. A. DE SINDEN CONVEYER Filed July 26, 1940 uwm I !NVENTOR 0164.3 L 1qmd a ATTOR EY Patented Nov. 3, 1942 GONVEYER Alfred De Los Sinden, Aurora, 111., assignor to Itedler Conveyor Company, Quincy, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 26, 1940, Serial No. 347,864

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a conveyer.

The object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved construction of conveyer which is particularly adapted among other uses for the handling of relatively fine material including fine powdered material, in an eflicient and economical manner.

With this general object in View and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the conveyer and in the various structures, arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawing illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 is a side elevation with portions broken away illustrating the present conveyer; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective detail illustrating a few of the conveyer flights making up the present conveying element; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional detail of a modified form of the present conveyer; and Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional detail on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

The present invention contemplates a conveyer of the general type illustrated in the United States reissue patent to Redler, No. 18,445, and which is characterized by a conveying element provided with a plurality of open or skeleton flights arranged to be drawn through a casing to convey the solid flowable material therethrough in a continuous stream. In the different commercial forms which the socalled Redler conveyer assumes, it has been found desirable to improve the cperation of the conveyer when finely divided material and particularly fine powders are to be handled. As is well known, a conveyer having a conveying element embodying an open type of flight, has many commercial advantages among which may be mentioned the capability of being loaded into the open sides of the flights without the material interfering with and being obliged to pass over the links and flights, and at the same time, this type of conveyer enables a positive discharge to be obtained at the head end of the conveyer, eliminating carrying the material over the head sprocket. In accordance with the present invention, the conveying element embodying the open or skeleton type of flights is provided with special flights of a semi-solid nature at spaced intervals in the length of the con veying element, and the interior of the casing of the conveyer is provided with a longitudinally extended sealing member which is adapted to substantially fill the gap or space formed in the semi-solid flights to thus form an effective closure for the gap for a substantial distance beyond the inlet through which the material is loaded into the conveyer casing. In this manner, the advantages of the open flight type of conveyer above referred to are retained while superior sealing of the material introduced into the casing and as it is conveyed upwardly therethrough isobtained, thereby preventing extremely fine materials, such as fine powders, from running back through the open flights.

Referring now to the drawing, in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1, the conveyer comprises a casing It in the form of a loop provided with an inlet I2 within the bottom portion of the loop and through which the material is adapted to be introduced into the conveyer to be conveyed thereby in-the direction of the arrow. Theconveyer casing is also provided with a discharge i l in the upper portion of the vertical conveying leg thereof, so that material is discharged through the discharge l4 the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1. The conveying operation is performed by an endless conveying element which may and preferably will be driven by a driven head sprocket I5 and the conveying element I5 is preferably made up of a series of pivotally connected open flights [8, herein shown as of general U-shape and connected to one another by the reception of an enlargement 20 at one end of a tension member 22 within a slotted portion of a hub 24, the construction of such individual flight being illustrated in United States Patent No. 1,999,484.

In order to prevent finely divided material, particularly powdered material, from tending to flow back through the open flights as the material is conveyed by the conveying element upwardly from the inlet 12 through the vertical leg of the conveyer, it is preferred to incorporate in the conveying element one or more semi-solid flights, herein shown as of a web shape, having a V- shaped opening or gap indicated at 26 formed between two web portions 28, 30 of the flight, the structure of the flight being otherwise similar to the remaining open flights of the conveyer. In order to seal the opening 28 in the semi-solid flight as the latter is drawn from the inlet of the casing upwardly for a substantial distance through the vertical leg of the casing, the interior of the casing is provided with a sealing strip or bar 3| which may be of wood or other material, and is preferably shaped as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5 to substantially fill the gap 28 in the semisolid flight as it passes by the sealing bar. In practice, suitable clearances are provided between the webs 28, 30 and the sealing bar, and the cooperation of the semi-solid flight with the sealing bar serves to effectively prevent the powdered or finely divided material from running back through the vertical leg of the conveyer casing thereby enabling the conveyer to function most efficiently while at the same time retaining the general advantages of an open flight type of conveyer.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated a modified form of the conveyer in which the inlet is formed in the upper run of the conveyer and in which the material, after it has been introduced into the conveyer, falls onto the lower run to be thereby conveyed upwardly therethrough. In such a construction, it is desirable to provide two lengths of sealing bar, one indicated at 32 upon the bottom wall of the upper run of the conveyer casing, and the second length (it being secured to the under side of the upper wall of the lower run of the conveyer casing. While the conveyer will function efficiently by the provision of a sealing bar which extends the entire length of the vertical run of the conveyer casing, it has been found sufficient that the sealing bar extend for a substantial distance up the vertical leg of the conveyer casing.

It has been found desirable to space the semisolid flights from each other a substantial distance as otherwise an excessive amount of material is carried over the head sprocket by such flights and in practice it is preferred to interpose a semi-solid flight every eight flights.

While the preferred embodiment has been herein illustrated and described, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A conveyer for conveying finely divided or powdered material comprising a casing having an inlet and an outlet, a portion of the casing extending upwardly to elevate the material in conveying it from the inlet to the outlet, a coneying element arranged to be drawn through the casing comprising a majority of flights of open structure and a relatively few flights of semi-solid structure, means for driving the conveying element including a sprocket, said semisolid flights being spaced at intervals along the length of said conveying element and each provided with an opening at one side thereof to facilitate passage of the flight over the sprocket,

said casing having a sealing strip disposed within the same and shaped to substantially fill said openings in the semi-solid flights as the latter are drawn through the casing, whereby to reduce to a minimum a tendency of the material to run back as it is being conveyed upwardly.

2. A conveyer for conveying finely divided or powdered material comprising a casing having an inlet and an outlet, a portion of the casing extending upwardly to elevate the material in conveying it from the inlet to the outlet, a conveying element arranged to be drawn through the casing comprising a majority of flights of open U-shaped structure and a relativel few flights of semi-solid structure, means for driving the conveying element including a sprocket, said semi-solid flights being spaced at intervals along the length of said conveying element, and each provided with an opening at one side thereof ,to facilitate passage of the flight over the sprocket, said casing having a sealing strip disposed within the same and shaped to substantially fill said openings in the semi-solid flights as the latter are drawn through the casin whereby to reduce to a minimum a tendency of the material to run back as it is being conveyed upwardly.

3. A conveyer for conveying finely divided or powdered material comprising a casing havin an inlet and an outlet, a portion of the casing extending upwardly to elevate the material in conveying it from the inlet to the outlet, a conveying element arranged to be drawn through the casing comprising a majority of flights of open structure and a relatively few flights of semi-solid structure, means for driving the conveying element including a sprocket, said semisolid flights being spaced at intervals along the length of said conveying element and each provided with an opening at one side thereof to facilitate passage of the flight over the sprocket, said casing having a sealing strip disposed therein and extending from the inlet through a substantial portion of the elevating run of the casing, and shaped to substantially fill said openings in the semi-solid flights as the latter are drawn through the casing, whereby to reduce to a minimum a tendency of the material to run back as it is being conveyed upwardly.

i. A conveyer for conveying finely divided or powdered material comprising a casing having an inlet and an outlet, a portion of the casing extending upwardly to elevate the material in conveying it from the inlet to the outlet, a conveying element arranged to be drawn through the casing comprising a majority of flights of open U-shaped structure pivotally connected together and a relatively few flights of semi-solid structure, said semi-solid flights being pivotally connected at spaced intervals to said open flights and each provided with an opening at one side thereof to facilitate passage of the flight over the sprocket, said casing having a sealing strip disposed within the same and shaped to substantially fill said openings in the semi-solid flights as the latter are drawn through the easing, whereby to reduce to a minimum a tendency of the material to run back as it is being conveyed upwardly.

5. A conveyer for conveying finely divided or powdered material comprising a casing formed in the shape of a loop provided with an inlet in the inside of the lower portion of the loop and an outlet in a vertical leg at the upper portion of the loop, a conveying element arranged to be drawn through the casing made up of a majority of flights of open structure and a relatively few flights of semi-solid structure, means for driving the conveying element including a head sprocket, said semi-solid flights being spaced at intervals along the length of the conveying element and each being provided with an opening at its inner side, whereby to facilitate passage of the flights over the head sprocket, and a sealing strip within the casing adapted to substantially fill the openings in the solid flights and extending from the inlet at least part way up the vertical leg of the conveyer.

6. A conveyer for conveying finely divided or powdered material comprising a casing having upper and lower runs, an inlet in the upper run, said lower run being adapted to elevate the material and said upper and lower runs being connected, whereby material is conveyed on the upper run and delivered onto the lower run, a conveying element adapted to be drawn through said casing and comprising a majority of open flights and a relatively few spaced apart semisolid flights, a. driving sprocket, said semi-solid flights being each provided with an opening to facilitate passage of the flight over the driving sprocket, and a sealing strip disposed in the lower portion of the upper run and in the upper portion of the lower run, said sealing strips having a cross-sectional area suflicient to substantially fill the openings in said semi-solid flights, the sealing strip in said lower run extending at least part way up the elevating portion of the conveyer.

ALFRED DE LOS SINDEN. 

